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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Mychal Denzel Smith is the author of Stakes Is High, winner of the Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction.

Mychal Denzel Smith

Arts And Culture

I Demand That Jay-Z Perform All Of ‘Kingdom Come’ At His Yankee Stadium Concert

Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

Funbag

Help! I Can’t Stop Farting In My Personal Office!

Patrick Redford

The Ticketmaster logo is displayed on a smartphone screen in this photo illustration. Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, currently faces a major antitrust trial in the United States, where regulators accuse the live-events giant of monopolizing the concert ticketing and promotion market, allegations the company denies, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 5, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto)

Capital

Live Nation Gets To Keep Its Monopoly Thanks To Trump’s Department Of Justice

Annie Howard is a journalist and historian based in Chicago. She is currently at work on her debut manuscript, The City Made Me Trans.

Annie Howard

Music

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Works Hard To Hope

Soraya Roberts

Should I Die For Orville Peck?

Los Campesinos concert stage - two fists surrounded by a ring of shards pointing at them

A Small Catalog Of Reflections On Aging Made Possible By Los Campesinos!

Israel Daramola

People during the concert before the meeting with Franklin Graham in Krakow, Poland on April 13, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Why Are So Many Concert Tours Getting Canceled?

Electric Callboy Is The World’s Heaviest And Greatest Boy Band

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: Peter Gabriel performs at Madison Square Garden on September 18, 2023 in New York City.

Shut Up And Play The New Stuff

Crowds are seen in front of the stage as Lost Frequencies gives a DJ Performance concert on the second day of the Champions Festival, which is being prepared for the UEFA Champions League final to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 9, 2023.

I Just Want To Go To A Concert

Luis Paez-Pumar

I Recommend Seeing Your Favorite Band Live 14 Times

Giri Nathan

Jai Paul Answered The Call

LAS VEGAS - AUGUST 05: Fans react as Papa Roach performs at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel &amp; Casino August 5, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rock group is touring in support of the platinum-selling album "Getting Away With Murder." (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

We Don’t Need Concert Encores Anymore

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

Concert-goers watch BTS perform onstage during iHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2021 presented by Capital One at The Forum on December 03, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.